Wesleyan University Archaeology and Anthropology Collections Hominin Fossil Casts
Species Designation: Kenyanthropus platyops [White (2003) claims that this fossil may be a Kenyan version of A. afarensis ] ID/ Nickname: KNM-WT 40000, Kenya Man Date: 3.5 million years ago Catalog #: 2003-8-1 Description: cranium

Context of Discovery:

Discovered at Lomekwi, Kenya by Justus Erus (a member of Meave Leakey's team) in 1999. The mostly complete cranium was found in two pieces: a very distorted skullcase, and a better preserved face.

Facts about "Kenya Man":

Kenyanthropus platyops means "Flat faced man of Kenya." This fossil has an unusual combination of characteristics including "primitive" traits like small ear holes and "advanced" traits like broad, flat face and small molars. It has been most closely compared to H. rudolfensis and H. habilis, species that lived about one million years later, and might be ancestral to them.

Important Publications:

Leakey, M.G., F. Spoor, F.H. Brown, P.N. Gathogo, C. Klarle, L.N. Leakey, and I. McDougall. 2001. "New hominin genus from eastern Africa shows diverse middle Pliocene lineages." Nature 410: 433-440.

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